Think SEO is snake oil? Discover the myths that seem to stick to SEO strategy that are not true and hurting your website’s performance.

 

Many see SEO as a common sense part of of your online marketing plan, but for others it has been convoluted by different falsehoods circulated throughout online marketing. It can be hard to determine fact from fiction, but once the reality of SEO is clear it is a simple decision to work on SEO strategy to improve business. But what are some of these myths about SEO that cause businesses to see the strategies in a negative light? Here are some of the myths that are being popped about SEO.

 

SEO is SnakeOil

FALSE. SEO is built on trust between the business, the marketer and Google. Google does not publish its algorithm, so it can be difficult to gauge results at first when implementing the SEO strategies chosen. This causes anxiety and trepidation from businesses that want to know their time and labor is fruitful. But all hope is not lost: While Google never publishes the details of that information, informed SEO professionals have a good understanding of what will bring a site in compliance with those algorithms (or, in the case of black hat SEO, how they can game those algorithms). They are after all based on math and processes governed by logic.

 

Content Rules All

Yes and no. There is a special relationship between content and link building that acts as the PB&J of SEO strategies. Creating quality, helpful content for consumers increases the likelihood that your link will be used as qualified information among other websites and pages. This special combo is the true king of SEO.

 

Speed Isn’t Necessary

Completely False. Website speed has been implemented into the Google Algorithm as a ranking factor and can affect your placement in searches. Make sure your site is responding at .8 minimum.

 

Keywords Need to Be Everywhere

No, just no. Create content that is relevant to your product or service talking about the overarching topic. Use keywords where they flow properly in your writing. For writers, it is sometimes better to not think about keywords and just write. While you can still put any word on the page too many times, there is no set range of what makes a page rank. In fact, you can find results now where the keyword does not exist in the visible portion of the page.

 

These are just a few of the myths that we can put to rest this round. Atria will circle back around with more SEO myths in the future!